
Abraham 

Lincoln 

Centennial 



1809 
February 12 

1909 



FOR 

Boys and Girls 



Lilian C. Berqold 




Class _ C ^£7- 

Book $tf<% 

Copyright^? - 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




The National Lincoln Monument 



The National Lincoln Monument at Springfield stands on an eminence 
in ( )ak Ridge Cemetery, overlooking a forest of evergreens. Upon the four 
pedestals around its central obelisk stand the four bronze groups, represent- 
ing the four arms of the service — infantry, cavalry, artillery, and navy. 
Passing around the whole obelisk and pedestal is a band or chain of shields, 
each representing a state, the name of which is carved upon it. At the south 
side of the obelisk is a square pedestal, 7 feet high, supporting the statue of 
Lincoln, the pedestal being ornamented with the coat-of-arms of the United 
States. This coat-of-arms, in the position it occupies on the monument, 
is intended to typify the constitution of the United States. Mr. Lincoln's 
statue on the pedestal above it marks the whole an illustration of his position 
at the outbreak of the rebellion. He took his stand on the constitution as his 
authority for using the four arms of the war power of the government, the 
infantry, cavalry, artillery, and navy, to hold together the states which arc 
represented still lower on the monument by a cordon of tablets linking them 
together in a perpetual bond of union. 

— By courtesy of E. S. Johnson, Springfield, Illinois. 




ARRAHAM LINCOLN 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

CENTENNIAL 



A COLLECTION OF AUTHENTIC STORIES, 
WITH POEMS, SONGS, AND PROGRAMS, 
FOR THE BOYS, GIRLS, AND TEACHERS 
OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 

By LILIAN C ?ERGOLD 

PH.B. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 



EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

BOSTON 

New York Chicago San Francisco 



( of CONGRESS 

Two Gocies Received 

JAN 2 1909 

Copyritnt t'ntry 
CLASS *- XXc, No. 






/d 



Copyright, 1908 

BY 

EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 



Zo £!!>£ flDotber 



PURPOSE 

One of the greatest features of the Lincoln Centennial should be 
to bring to the children of this country those elements of his character, 
influence, and greatness which they can appreciate. The author 
has endeavored to bring together in usable form such material as would 
further this purpose. Many selections from which parts have been 
taken are easily available and may be well used in full. Several of 
the stories and illustrations have not been hitherto published. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I Stories Told about Lincoln 5 

II Stories Told by Lincoln 25 

III Maxims and Sayings of Lincoln 30 

IV Materials for Readings from Lincoln's Speeches and Letters 32 
V Poems: By Lincoln 38 

Favorites of Lincoln 39 

On Lin oln 41 

VI Tributes to Lincoln by Our Great Men Suitable for Readings 44 

VII Toast to the Flag .47 

Two Pledge Salutes to the Flag 48 

VIII Songs: Favorites of Lincoln 49 

Lincoln Campaign Songs 49 

Popular National War Songs 52 

IX Programs 56 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

St. Gaudens' Lincoln Statue in Chicago Cover Design 

The National Lincoln Monument at Springfield Frontispiece 

Portrait of Abraham Lincoln Facing Title Page 

A Rail Old Western Gentleman 17 

The Lincoln House in i860 24 

Detail Groups of National Lincoln Monument Facing Page 46 

3 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The author wishes to express her appreciation to Mr. Frederick 
G. Bonser of the Department of Education for the helpful suggestions 
and encouragement he has offered; to Major E. S. Johnson, Cus- 
todian of the National Lincoln Monument, for kindly loaning the plates 
of the Monument statuary; and to Mr. J. McCan Davis, for the use 
of the Lincoln house and cartoon plates. 

She also wishes to thank Mr. O. H. Oldroyd, The Century Com- 
pany, The Outlook, McClure, Phillips & Company, the Macmillan 
Company, and the S. Brainard's Sons Company, for their courtesy 
in permitting the use of copyrighted material. 

Lilian C. Bergold 
State Normal School, Macomb, Illinois. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

I. 

STORIES TOLD ABOUT LINCOLN 

1-4* Lincoln's Paper Scrap-Books 

Lincoln kept two scrap-books, one for funny sayings or 
fine passages from poems or history, the other for arithme- 
tic sums. On a page of this scrap-book, under a table of 
weights, he wrote: 

Abraham Lincoln 

his hand and pen 

he will be great but 

God knows when. 



3-5 A "Copy" Written by Lincoln 

As Lincoln was considered the best penman in his 
neighborhood, he was asked while on a visit to write some 
"copies." One of them was: 

Good boys who to their books apply 
Will all be great men by and by. 

* Figures before titles of stories indicate grades for which they are appropriate. 

5 



4-8 How Lincoln Paid for Weems' Life of Washington 

Lincoln read whatever books he could manage to bor- 
row. One of these was Weems' "Life of Washington," 
which he laid away carefully every night on a "shelf" or 
clapboard resting on wooden pins. One stormy night, 
however, the book was thoroughly soaked. Lincoln was 
allowed to keep the book after he had pulled fodder three 
days. 

1-8 Lincoln Saves a Man from Freezing 

One night as Lincoln and some other men were return- 
ing from a "raising," he noticed a stray horse, saddled and 
bridled, in the woods, and near by it a man benumbed with 
cold. 

"Let's leave him," said the men. 

"No, he'll freeze to death," said Lincoln. 

With the help of the others he lifted the man on the 
horse and when they reached a house, Lincoln cared for 
him the rest of the night. 



4-8 Rescue of a Pig 

Lincoln was one day riding past a ditch in which he 
saw a pig trying in vain to free itself from the mud. He 
wanted to help the pig, but as he had on a new suit of 
clothes, he decided to ride by. The thought of the poor 
pig troubled him so much, however, that he turned back 
after he had ridden two miles and dragged the pig out. 



4-8 Lincoln's First Dollar 

Abraham Lincoln earned his first dollar when about 
eighteen years of age, by taking two men and their trunks 
by flat-boat out to a steamer in the Mississippi River, for 
which they gave him a silver half dollar each. Mr. Lin- 
coln afterward said: "I could scarcely believe my eyes as 
I picked up the money. It was a most important incident 
in my eyes. I could scarcely believe that I, a poor boy, 
had earned a dollar in less than a day — that by honest 
work I had earned a dollar. I was a more hopeful and 
confident being from that time." 

— By permission of O. H. Oldroyd. 

1-8 "Abe's Log" at Sangamon Town 

Sangamon Town, where Lincoln built the flat-boat, 
was then one of the flourishing settlements on the river of 
that name. It took some four weeks to build the raft, and 
in that period Lincoln succeeded in captivating the entire 
village by his story-telling. It was the custom in Sangamon 
for the " men-folks " to gather, when resting, in a lane near the 
mill. They had rolled out a long peeled log, on which they 
lounged. Lincoln had not been long in Sangamon before 
he joined this circle. So irresistibly droll were his "yarns" 
that "whenever he'd end up in his unexpected way the 
boys on the log would whoop and roll off." The result of 
the rolling off was to polish the log like a mirror. The men, 
recognizing Lincoln's part in this polishing, christened their 
seat "Abe's Log." 

— By permission of McChire, Phillips & Co. 



8 

5-8 Lincoln Saves Three Men in a Sangamon 

River Tree 

Before Lincoln left Sangamon he was the hero of a 
thrilling adventure. The men were making a dug-out, to 
be used as a small boat with the flat. After the dug-out 
was ready to launch they prepared to "let her go," when 
two men jumped in as the boat struck water, each one anx- 
ious to be the first to get a ride. As they shot out from the 
shore they found they were unable to make any headway 
against the strong current. At last they began to pull for 
the wreck of an old flat-boat. Just as they reached it, one 
made a grab and clung to the old timber, but capsized the 
canoe, and threw the other into the stream. Lincoln yelled 
to him to swim for an old tree. 

Being a good swimmer, he succeeded in catching a 
branch, and pulled himself up out of the water. Finally the 
second man climbed up beside the first. Now there were two 
men in the tree and the boat was gone. By this time many 
people had come to the bank. Lincoln procured a rope, 
and tied it to a log. After all hands had helped roll the log 
into the water, a daring young fellow took his seat on the 
log, and it was pushed out into the current, with the 
expectation that it would be carried down stream against the 
tree where the two men were. 

The log went straight to the tree; but its rider, im- 
patient to help his friends, made a frantic grab at a branch, 
raised himself off the log, which was swept from under him, 
and soon joined the other two victims upon their forlorn 
perch. Lincoln had the log pulled up the stream, and, 



securing another piece of rope, called to the men in the tree 
to catch it if they could, when he should reach the tree. 
When he dashed into the tree, he threw the rope over the 
stump of a broken limb, and held the log there until the 
three now nearly frozen men had seated themselves astride. 
He then gave orders to the people on the shore to hold fast 
to the end of the rope which was tied to the log, and leav- 
ing his rope in the tree he turned the log adrift. The force 
of the current, acting against the taut rope, swung the log 
around against the bank, and all "on board" were saved. 
— By permission of McClure, Phillips 6° Co. 

3-8 How Lincoln Saved a Flat-boat 

While floating down the Sangamon River, the flat- 
boat stuck on a milldam near New Salem. The villagers 
watched from the shore while one tall fellow worked out a 
plan of relief. He unloaded the cargo into a neighboring 
boat, thus tilting the craft. Then by boring a hole in the 
end extending over the dam, the water was let out. After 
plugging the hole he shoved off and reloaded. 

5-6 The Great Wrestling Match 

At New Salem, Lincoln soon became popular for his 
great strength. A friend boasted of him to the rude but 
good-hearted "Clary Grove Boys," who immediately pitted 
their champion, Armstrong, against him. When neither 
gained the advantage, Armstrong resorted to foul play. 
Indignant at this, Lincoln caught him by the throat and 



10 

holding him at arm's length, shook him like a boy. 
Armstrong, convinced of Lincoln's manhood, declared he 
should be "one of the boys." 

Captain Lincoln Forgets the Proper Word of 
Command 

Lincoln, while captain of a company in the Black Hawk 
War, was one day crossing a field with a front of twenty 
men, when he came to a narrow gate. Lincoln could not 
remember the proper word of command for ordering his 
men to form single file, so he shouted: "Halt! This com- 
pany is dismissed for two minutes. It will reassemble on 
the other side of the fence. Break ranks!" The maneuver 
was successful. 

Lincoln's Habit of Carrying Letters in His Hat 

As business in Lincoln's store at New Salem was slack, 
he also became postmaster and kept the letters in the crown 
of his hat while delivering them. Years later he failed to 
answer a letter promptly because he had put it in his old 
hat and lost sight of it the next day, when he bought a new 
one. 

How Lincoln Kept His Post-office Collections 

After Lincoln had left New Salem and gone to Spring- 
field, the traveling post-office agent called to collect the 
money of the United States still in his possession. A friend 
offered to loan Lincoln the money to settle up his post-office 



II 



account, but he replied, "Thank you very much, but I have 
all the money in my trunk which belongs to the government." 
The identical silver, quarters and twelve-and-a-half cent 
pieces, were safely put away in an old sock in his trunk. 



1-8 Lincoln, His Two Wailing Boys, and Three 

Walnuts 

A neighbor of Mr. Lincoln in Springfield tells the fol- 
lowing story. He was called to the door one day by hearing 
a great noise of children crying, and there was Mr. Lincoln 
striding by with two of his boys, both of whom were wail- 
ing aloud. "Why, Mr. Lincoln, what's the matter with 
the boys?" he asked. 

" Just what's the matter with the whole world," Lin- 
coln replied; "I've got three walnuts and each wants two." 
— By permission of McClure, Phillips & Co. 



1-4 How Tad was Named 

Mr. Lincoln while living in Springfield had purchased 
a new horse which he named "Tom." Soon after, while 
out for a drive, he found that every time he spoke to the 
horse his son "Thomas" would reply, so he said: "This 
will never do, but I cannot change the horse's name, so I 
shall change the boy's." Accordingly Thomas Lincoln 
became "Tad." 
— Told the author by Airs. Edwards, a niece oj Mrs. Lincoln. 



12 



i-4 Lincoln and the Young Birds 

Lincoln, Speed, and others were riding toward Spring- 
field, and had stopped to water their horses. Hardin at the 
rear came up alone. "Where is Lincoln?" they asked. 
"Oh," he said, "he caught two young birds which had 
been blown out of their nest, and is hunting the nest to put 
them back." 



2-6 Lincoln Carries a Little Girl's Trunk to the 

Station 

Lincoln was always doing some kind deed for children. 
A little girl was going to take her first trip alone on the rail- 
road. When train time came near, the hackman had not 
gotten her trunk. Fearing she would miss her train she 
stood by the gate crying as if her heart would break. Just 
then Mr. Lincoln came by. He asked what the trouble was, 
then about the size of the trunk, and pushed through the 
gate to where it stood. " Come quick," he said, and shoulder- 
ing the trunk, hurried out of the yard and down the street. 
They reached the station in time. 



i-8 How Tad Interrupted a Game of Chess 

One day Mr. Lincoln was playing chess with Judge 
Treat, when Tad came to bring his father home to supper. 
As Mr. Lincoln made no show of starting, Tad tried to 
shake the board, but was kept away by his father's long 
arm. Soon Mr. Lincoln was watching the game so carefully, 



*3 

that he failed to notice Tad. Before long, the table sud- 
denly bucked, and chess-board and pieces went to the floor. 
The Judge was vexed, but Mr. Lincoln only said as he 
took his hat, "Considering the position of your pieces 
at the time of the upheaval, you need not complain, Judge." 



5-8 Judge Logan's Shirt 

Lincoln once took an amusing advantage of Judge 
Logan's lack of sense of humor. 

"Gentlemen," he began, "you must be careful and 
not permit yourselves to be overborne by the eloquence of 
the counsel for defense. But shrewd and careful though 
Judge Logan be, still he is sometimes wrong. Since the 
trial began I have discovered that, with all his caution, he 
hasn't knowledge enough to put his shirt on right." 

Logan turned crimson with embarrassment and the 
jurors burst into a roar of laughter as they discovered that 
the discomfited advocate was wearing the garment in ques- 
tion with the plaited bosom behind, and for the rest of that 
trial Logan was not effective against his former partner. 
— From "Lincoln the Lawyer." By permission of The 
Century Company. 



5-8 Lincoln Refuses to Defend a Guilty Client 

On one occasion, when it developed that his client had 
indulged in fraudulent practices, Lincoln walked out of the 
court-room and refused to continue the case. The judge 



14 



sent a messenger directing him to return. "Tell the judge 
that my hands are dirty and I've gone away to wash them," 
was his disgusted reply. 

— By permission of The Century Company. 



5-8 Lincoln Discourages Sharp Practices 

"Yes," Mr. Herndon reports Lincoln as advising a 
client, "we can doubtless gain your case for you; we can 
set a whole neighborhood at loggerheads; we can distress 
a widowed mother and her six fatherless children, and 
thereby get for you six hundred dollars to which you seem 
to have a legal claim, but which rightfully belongs, it ap- 
pears to me, as much to the woman and her children as it 
does to you. You must remember, however, that some 
things legally right are not morally right. We shall not 
take your case, but we will give you a little advice for which 
we will charge you nothing. You seem to be a sprightly, 
energetic man. We would advise you to try your hand at 
making six hundred dollars in some other way." 

— By permission of The Century Company. 

5-8 Lincoln's Honesty 

Even in a community where plain straightforward 
dealing was assumed as a matter of course, Lincoln won an 
enviable reputation for integrity and honor. Honesty was 
not merely the best policy; the people were expected to be 
upright and just with one another. But when a clerk in 



i5 

a country store walked miles to deliver a few ounces of tea 
innocently withheld from a customer by an error in the 
scales, and when he made a long, hard trip in order to re- 
turn a few cents accidentally overpaid him, he was talked 
about, and the fact is that "Honest Abe" was a tribute, 
not a nick-name. 

— By permission of The Century Company. 



4-8 Lincoln's Honesty in Regard to Fees 

A gentleman at Quincy, Illinois, had leased a house 
owned by a lady of Springfield. He employed Lincoln to 
execute the lease for him. Lincoln sent the lease to him at 
Quincy, but made no mention of his pay. Thereupon the 
gentleman sent Lincoln twenty-five dollars, thinking that 
to be about the right amount. In a few clays to his sur- 
prise he received a letter from Lincoln, acknowledging the 
receipt of his check and returning a ten-dollar bill, with 
the words: "You must think I am a high-priced man. 
Fifteen dollars is enough for the job." 



Lincoln's Suit Against the Illinois Central 
Railroad 

The Illinois Central Railroad declined to pay Lincoln's 
bill of two thousand dollars for services rendered in the 
action brought against McLean County, and he promptly 
withdrew his account and sued his ungrateful client for six 
thousand. On the trial of the action all the leaders of the 



i6 

Illinois Bar testified that Lincoln's amended bill was reason- 
able, and the jury promptly brought in a verdict of five 
thousand dollars and costs. 

— By permission of Tlie Century Company. 

5-8 Lincoln Has a "Dogerotype" Taken at Macomb, 

Illinois, in 1858 

In 1858 Lincoln had been announced to make a speech 
on the "Square" at Macomb, Illinois. When he finally 
appeared Mr. William Bross of Chicago asked: 
"What made you late, Mr. Lincoln?" 
"Oh," he answered, "I've been having my dogerotype 
taken in the wagon on the next street." 

— Told by Mr. C. V. Chandler, owner of a photograph 
taken from this "dogerotype," to the author. 

7-8 How Oglesby, John Hanks and Two Fence 

Rails Killed Seward's Boom 

As the time for the State Convention of i860, at Decatur, 
was drawing near, "Dick" Oglesby, afterwards Governor of 
Illinois, foresaw that Lincoln's possibility as a presidential 
candidate would be endangered if the delegation from Illinois 
were divided. He therefore planned to do something that 
would "kill the Seward Boom," and make the State dele- 
gation solid for Lincoln. He was one day talking with 
John Hanks, a Democrat, and cousin of Lincoln, about 
"Abe," when John began to tell about some rails he and 
Lincoln had split near Decatur, to put up a fence. Oglesby 



17 



immediately asked if Hanks supposed he could find any of 
the rails. Hanks replied that when he had last been there, 
ten years before, there were plenty of them left. So Oglesby 
and Hanks drove to the old clearing the next day, and as 
soon as Hanks whittled the old rails with his knife, he knew 




" A RAIL OLD WESTERN GENTLEMAN." 

A caricature of the campaign of i860. From the Oldroyd collection, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

— By permission. From " How Abraham Lincoln Became President," by J. McCan 
Davis. 



they were the very same black walnut and honey locust 
rails. The men then took two of the rails, tied them under 
the buggy and hid the rails in Oglesby's barn until the day 
of the convention. He in the meantime planned that 



i8 



Hanks should bring them into the convention with these 
words on a banner fastened across the top of the rails: 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

The Rail Candidate for President in i860. 

Two rails from a lot of three thousand made in 1830 by John Hanks 

and Abe Lincoln, whose father was the first pioneer of 

Macon County. 

When the convention was well under way, Oglesby 
announced that an old Democrat wanted to make a con- 
tribution to the convention. Then Hanks came in with the 
rails and spoke familiarly to Lincoln as he passed him. 
There was a cry of "Speech! Speech!" and when Lincoln 
finally showed himself, the crowd was so dense that they 
passed him hand over hand over the solid mass of people 
to the platform. It was a strange sight to see this long man 
being handed over the people's heads. The next day Hanks 
got a wagon load of rails and sold them for a dollar a piece. 
From that time on the supply seemed endless. The two 
fence rails killed the Seward Boom. 



7-8 Homes of Lincoln and Louis the Fourteenth 

A Frenchman who saw the replica of the Springfield 
home of Lincoln at the Lewis and Clark Exposition said: 
"I have seen the bed chamber of Louis the Fourteenth, 
and I cannot but think of the great contrast between the 
simplicity of your grand man and the grandeur of our sim- 
ple man." — Alfred Bayliss. 



19 

6-8 Latitude and Longitude of Lincoln's Socks 

Lincoln was noted for his kind heart and good humoi. 
Shortly before leaving for Washington, Lincoln was enter- 
taining an important delegation from Massachusetts, when 
an old lady, her tanned face peering out from her sun 
bonnet, arrived. Her errand was to present Lincoln with 
a pair of very long socks. Holding them up by the toes 
he exclaimed, "Well, gentlemen, I think she has my lati- 
tude and longitude about right." 

3-6 A Little Girl Induces Lincoln to Wear a Beard 

On his way to Washington as President, Lincoln stopped 
at Westfield, Massachusetts, to speak for a few minutes. 
In his talk he referred humorously to a letter received from 
a little W 7 estfield girl, advising him to wear a beard to im- 
prove his looks. Stroking his chin he said, "I intend to 
follow her advice," and from then on he wore a beard. 
He added that if she were present he would like to meet her. 

6-8 Douglas Holds Lincoln's Hat 

When Lincoln was about to deliver his first inaugural 
address on the east portico of the Capitol, he vainly looked 
for a spot where he might place his high silk hat. Stephen 
A. Douglas, his political antagonist, was seated just behind 
him. He stepped forward quickly, and took the hat which 
Mr. Lincoln held helplessly in his hand. "If I can't be 
President," he whispered smilingly to a cousin of Mrs. Lin- 
coln, "I at least can hold his hat." 



20 

A Pass to Richmond 

A Northern gentleman requested a pass to Richmond. 
"A pass to Richmond!" exclaimed the President, "Why, 
my dear sir, if I should give you one it would do you no good. 
You may think it very strange, but there are a lot of fellows 
who are prejudiced against every man who totes a pass 
from me. I have given McClellan and more than two 
hundred thousand others passes to Richmond, and not one 
of them has yet gotten there!" 

— By permission of O. H. Oldroyd. 



5-8 Betsy Ann — the Washerwoman 

One day an ex-governor gained the President's ear. 
Presently he began: "Mr. President, I want to speak to 
you about the case of Betsy Ann Dougherty. She was my 
washerwoman for a long time, but now her husband has 
joined the rebel army. I wish you would give her a pro- 
tection paper." Mr. Lincoln saw how ridiculous the re- 
quest was, but concealed his amusement and asked: "Was 
Betsy Ann a good washerwoman?" "Yes, sir. Very good 
indeed. Couldn't you write something to the officers?" 
Mr. Lincoln, after asking more questions of a like nature, 
wrote the following on a calling card: 

"Let Betsy Ann Dougherty alone, as long as she 
behaves herself. A. Lincoln." 

"No," he replied, "officers have no time now to read 
letters. Tell her to put a string in this card and hang it 



21 

around her neck. When they see this they will let her alone." 
Such ludicrous scenes gave him relief from his overwhelming 
cares. 

3-8 Some Little Girls at the White House 

One afternoon three poorly clad little girls had followed 
the crowd into the White House to a reception. Lincoln 
noticing them passing, called out, "Little girls, are you 
going to pass me without shaking hands?" Then bending 
down he greeted them warmly. 

5-8 Lincoln and the Russian Ambassador 

At a levee at the White House, the Russian Ambassa- 
dor stood talking to the President, when the President 
asked him this question: "Would you have taken me for 
an American if you had met me anywhere else than in this 
country?" 

"No," said the distinguished Muscovite, who, like Old 
Abe, was a bit of a wag, "I should have taken you for a 
Pole." 

"So I am," exclaimed the President, straightening 
himself up to his full height, "and a Liberty Pole at that." 
— By permission of O. H. Oldroyd. 

3-6 How Tad Signalled to His Father 

Lincoln was listening to an account of one of Grant's 
battles, when a gentle knocking resounded on the door to 
which Lincoln paid no heed. Then the door knob was 



22 

rattled and a childish voice called, "Unfasten the door." 
Lincoln drew the bolt, and Little Tad, then ten years old, 
bounced in, and jumped upon his father's lap. 

The little fellow was in the habit, if he awoke in the 
night, of creeping into his father's bed; but on this occasion, 
not finding him, had come over to the office, which was on 
the same floor. 

Lincoln, with Tad on his knee, began to teach him to 
make a certain signal by tapping on the desk with Tad's 
fist doubled up in his own big, bony hand. Telegraphy 
had been introduced but a short time before. 

There were seven quick raps, followed by two slower 

ones, thus — — , and over and over 

again these dots and dashes were sounded on the desk un- 
til Tad made the signal correctly without his father's help. 

Tad had been taught to make this signal on the office 
door, whenever he wanted to come in, and had forgotten 
to make it, so his father paid no attention to the disturb- 
ance till he heard the voice. 

— By permission oj The Century Company. 



7-8 Attending to the Details of the Army 

"Now, my man, go away, go away," General Fry 
overheard Lincoln say one day to a soldier who was plead- 
ing for the President's interference in his behalf. "I can- 
not meddle in your case. I could as easily bail out the 
Potomac with a teaspoon as attend to all the details of the 
army." 



23 

4-8 Lincoln on His Ancestry 

Concerning his ancestry Lincoln said, "I don't know 
who my grandfather was, and am much more concerned 
to know what his grandson will be." 

Blondin Crossing the Niagara River 

Lincoln and the country expected McClellan to cross 
the Potomac on the 22d of February. When he failed to 
do this complaints kept coming in to the President. Finally 
he said to some gentlemen in answer to their complaints, 
" Gentlemen, suppose you had put all the property you were 
worth into the hands of Blondin, the wire walker, to carry 
across the Niagara. Would you shake the cable or keep 
shouting directions at him? No, you would hold your 
breath as well as your tongue until he was safely over. It 
is Ihus with the government. Keep silent, and we'll get 
you safely across." 




<J 






2 

O « 



IT. § 

o 



h4 .2 



II 

STORIES TOLD BY LINCOLN 

Purpose of Lincoln's Stories 

While at Washington, Lincoln was once asked to tell 
a story. He replied by saying: "I believe I have the popu- 
lar reputation of being a story-teller; but it is not the story 
itself, but its purpose or effect, that interests me. I often 
avoid a long, useless discussion by others or laborious ex- 
planation on my own part by a short story that illustrates 
my point of view. So, too, the sharpness of a refusal or 
the edge of a rebuke may be blunted by an appropriate 
story." 

— By permission of The Century Company. 

The Irish Bull About the New Boots 

How could we make an entirely new improvement 
such as a road or canal by means of the tonnage duties de- 
rived from it? The idea that we could, involves the same 
absurdity as the Irish bull about the new boots. "I shall 
never git 'em on," says Pat, "till I wear 'em a day or two, 
and stretch 'em a little." 

25 



26 



The Rat Story 

While en route from Dixon to Freeport, Illinois, Mr. 
Lincoln took off his hat and produced a crumpled and not 
too immaculate scrap of paper from the multitude therein. 

"Now, Joe," said he to Mr. Medill, of the Press and 
Tribune, "here are the four questions I intend to ask Judge 
Douglas. I am ready for you. Fire away." 

After reading them over, Mr. Medill said, "We don't 
care about the others, but if you ask the second you will 
never see the United States Senate." The question read, 
"Can the people of the United States Territory, in any 
lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of the United 
States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the forma- 
tion of a State Constitution?" "Douglas will answer 
'Yes,' and that's all the Democrats want to put him in the 
Senate," said Mr. Medill. "Why should we work for 
you?" 

"Joe," said Lincoln, "a rat in the larder is easier to 
catch than a rat that has the run of the cellar. You know 
where to set your trap in a larder. I'll tell you why I am 
in this campaign — to catch Douglas now and keep him 
out of the White House in i860." 

— By permission. From " The Crisis" by Winston 
Churchill. 

Boast of an Irish Soldier 
A witty Irish soldier was always boasting of his brav- 
ery when no danger was near, but always retreated at the 
first charge of an engagement. When asked by his cap- 



27 

tain why he did so he replied: "I have as brave a heart 
as Julius Caesar ever had; but, somehow or other, when- 
ever danger approaches, my cowardly legs wall run away 
with it." So with some men. They take public money 
for the best imaginable purposes; but before they can 
possibly produce it again, their rascally "vulnerable heels" 
will run away with them. 

5-8 The Steamboat with Six-Inch Boiler and Nine- 
Inch Whistle 

We have all met with people who in ordinary affairs 
seem rational enough, but as soon as they arise to address 
an assembly all sense seems to desert them. Mr. Lincoln 
was once opposed in a law suit by a lawyer who belonged 
in this class. It reminded him of a story. He once saw 
a steam-boat which had an engine with a six-inch boiler 
and a nine-inch whistle. The steamboat moved along all 
right until it blew its whistle, then the locomotion ceased 
altogether. 



'6 



— By permission of O. H. Oldroyd. 



5-8 ^Esop's Fable about Four White Men Scrubbing 

A Negro 

One day, discussing with Dr. Sunderland the effect which 
the war would have upon the negro, Lincoln suddenly 
laughed and said, "This makes me think of a story in 
'^Esop's Fables.' Four white men were scrubbing a negro 
jn a potash kettle of cold water, hoping to make him white, 



2 8 

but just as they thought they were succeeding he took cold 
and died. Now I'm afraid that by the time we get through 
this war the Negro will catch cold and die." 



3-8 How Some People Succeed in Corking Up 

Others 

A Union general had allowed himself and his army to be 
drawn into a dangerous position. When speaking of this, 

Lincoln said: "General reminds me of a man out 

West who was engaged in what they call heading a barrel. 
He worked diligently for a time driving down the hoops; 
but when the job seemed completed, the head would fall in, 
and he would have to do the work all over again. Sud- 
denly a bright idea struck him. He put his boy into the 
barrel to hold up the head while he pounded down the hoops. 
This worked like a charm. The job was completed be- 
fore he once thought how he was to get the little fellow out 
again. Now," said Mr. Lincoln, "some people can suc- 
ceed better in getting themselves and others corked up 
than in getting uncorked." 



7-8 • The Coon Story 

At the close of the War, Lincoln was beset by men who 
wished to advise him how to proceed toward the conquered 
Confederacy. One gentleman boldly asked aloud, what 
everyone else was asking privately, "Mr. President, what 
will you do with Jeff Davis when he is caught?" 



20 

Mr. Lincoln straightened up, and all knew he was 
about, to tell a story. "Gentlemen," he began, "that re- 
minds me of a little boy I once found crying on a street 
corner of a little Illinios town. I asked him the cause of 
his trouble. He said that he had been struggling with the 
coon which was tugging at the end of a string. Between 
sobs he continued, 'That coon, sir, has given me all kinds 
of trouble, and now has nearly gnawed the string in two. 
I just wish he would, so I could say at home that he had 
got away.'" 

Everyone laughed. All understood what the President 
'would like to do with Jeff Davis — when Jeff Davis was 
caught. 



Ill 

MAXIMS AND SAYINGS OF LINCOLN 
1-4 " All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." 

3-8 "It is better only sometimes to be right than at all 

times to be wrong." 

1-8 "A living dog is better than a dead lion." 

1-8 "Broken eggs cannot be mended." 

5-6 "I do not wish to die until the world is better for my 

having lived." (Said to his closest friend, Joshua Speed.) 

3-6 "When I am dead, I wish my friends to remember that 

I always plucked a thistle and planted a rose when in my 
power." 

7-8 "My early history is perfectly characterized by a single 

line of Gray's 'Elegy': 

'"The short and simple annals of the poor.'" 

(Reply to a gentleman who asked for a sketch of his 
life, 1 86 1.) 

30 



3 1 

6-8 "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for 

themselves, and under a just God cannot long retain it." 

4-8 "If we do right, God will be with us, and if God is with 

us we cannot fail." 

5-8 "He who does something at the head of one regiment, 

will eclipse him who does nothing at the head of a hun- 
dred." 

5-8 "Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that 

faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand 
it." — Cooper Institute Speech. 

5-8 Maxim when assigning offices: " Justice to all." 

"I have not suffered by the South, I have suffered with 
the South. Their pain has been my pain; their loss has 
been my loss. What they have gained, I have gained." 



IV 



MATERIAL SUITABLE FOR READINGS TAKEN 
FROM LINCOLN'S SPEECHES AND LETTERS 

7-8 Lincoln's Sketch of His Own Life 

Written for the Campaign of i860. Excellent as a 
reading. Closes with the following personal description: 

If any personal description of me is thought desirable, 
it may be said I am, in height, six feet four inches, nearly; 
lean in flesh, weighing on an average one hundred eighty 
pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and gray 
eyes. No other marks or brands recollected. 

Yours truly, 

A. Lincoln. 
— Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln. — Nicolay and Hay, 
I, 596. 

5-8 Lincoln's Interpretation of "All Men are 

Created Equal" 

"I say no man is good enough to govern another man, 
without that other's consent. I say this is the leading 
principle — the sheet anchor of American republicanism. 
Our Declaration of Independence says: 'We hold these 

3 2 



33 

truths to be self-evident ; that all men are created equal : that 
they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalien- 
able rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pur- 
suit of happiness.' 

"I think the authors of that notable instrument intended 
to include all men, but they did not intend to declare all 
men equal in all respects. They did not mean to say all 
were equal in color, size, intellect, moral developments, 
or social capacity. They denned with tolerable distinct- 
ness, in what respects they did consider all men created 
equal — equal with 'certain inalienable rights, among 
which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'" 



7-8 Address on Colonization to A Deputation of 

Colored Men 

Lincoln's opinions regarding the future of the negroes 
and the advantages of colonization in Central America 
are forcibly expressed. — Extracts — Complete Works oj Abra- 
ham Lincoln. — Nicolay and Hay, II, 222. 



Letter to Mrs. Bixby of Boston, Mass. 
November 21, 1864 

Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files of the 
War Department a statement of the Adjutant- General of 
Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who 
have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak 
and fruitless must be any words of mine which should at- 



34 

tempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelm- 
ing. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the con- 
solation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic 
they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may 
assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you 
only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the 
solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a 
sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. 

Yours very sincerely and respectfully, 

Abraham Lincoln. 

Letter to General Joseph Hooker 

The spirit is shown by the closing words: "Beware 
of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go 
forward and give us victories." 

— Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln. — Nicolay and 
Hay, II, 306. 

First Inaugural Address 

(Extracts, especially from the latter part, including his closing 
words, to be selected.) 

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be 
enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not 
break our bonds of affection. The mvstic cords of memorv, 
stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every 
living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will 
yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as 
surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." 



3$ 

5~8 The Presidential Oath Taken by Lincoln 

A cheer greeted Lincoln at the close of this address. 
Chief- Justice Taney arose, the clerk opened his Bible, and 
Mr. Lincoln, laying his hand upon it, with deliberation 
pronounced the oath: 

"I, Abraham Lincoln, do solemnly swear that I will 
faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, 
and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and 
defend the Constitution of the United States." 

So long as liberty remains: so long as Christianity 
and civilization are the legacy of the race, will history re- 
cord how faithfully that sacred vow was fulfilled. 

— Dr. Wm. Jayne. 



6-8 How Shall We Fortify Against Disregarding 

the Laws? 

Suitable for a reading. An extract is: "Let reverence 
for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the 
lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in 
schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written 
in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs ; let it be preached 
from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and en- 
forced in Courts of Justices; in short, let it become the 
political religion of the nation." 

— Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln — Nicolay and 
Hay, I, 12. 



36 

7-8 Gettysburg Address 

November, 19, 1863 

This address was originally composed by Lincoln on 
a piece of brown wrapping paper, partly while aboard the 
train and partly at Gettysburg. Lincoln feared it would 
be a failure. 

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought 
"forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, 
and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created 
equal. 

"Now we are engaged in a great Civil War, testing 
whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so 
dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle- 
field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of 
that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave 
their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether 
fitting and proper that we should do this. 

"But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we 
cannot consecrate — we cannot hallow — this ground. The 
brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have con- 
secrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. 
The world will little note nor long remember what we say 
here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for 
us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished 
work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly 
advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the 
great task remaining before us — that from these honored 
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they 
gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly 



37 

resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that 
this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; 
and that government of the people, by the people, for the 
people, shall not perish from the earth." 

The eloquent Hon. Edward Everett was orator of the 
day. At the conclusion of his address he was heartily con- 
gratulated by Mr. Lincoln, to whom he replied: "Ah, 
Mr. President, gladly would I exchange my entire hundred 
pages to have been the author of your twenty lines." 

See "Lincoln at Gettysburg." 

— Clark E. Can. ( McClurg. ) 
"The Perfect Tribute." 

— M. R. Andrews. (Scribner's, Vol. XL.) 



Second Inaugural Address 

The entire selection may be used, especially the closing 
words : 

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with 
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let 
us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the 
nation's wounds ; to care for him who shall have borne the 
battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which 
may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among 
ourselves, and with all nations." 



V 

POEMS 

A Poem by Lincoln — His Favorites — Poems 
on Lincoln 

Lincoln wrote the following poem in 1844, when he 
visited the neighborhood in Indiana where he was raised 
and his mother was buried: 

My childhood's home I see again, 

And sadden with the view; 
And still, as memory crowds my brain, 

There's pleasure in it too. 

Nearly twenty years have passed away 

Since here I bid farewell 
To woods and fields and scenes of play, 

And playmates loved so well. 

Where many were, but few remain 

Of old familiar things; 
But seeing them to mind again 

The lost and absent brings. 

The friends I left that parting day, 

How changed, as time has sped! 
Young childhood grown strong manhood gray, 

And half of all are dead. 

38 



39 

I hear the loved survivors tell 

How naught from death could save, 
Till every sound appears a knell, 

And every spot a grave 

I range the fields with pensive tread, 

And pace the hollow rooms, 
And feel (companion of the dead) 

I'm living in the tombs. 

Favorite Poems of Lincoln 

"A Man's a Man for a' That." — Burns. 
"Last Leaf." — Holmes. 

Oh! Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be 
Proud ? 

Lincoln recited this at every opportunity for some 
thirty years. 

Oh! why should the spirit of mortal be proud? 
Like a swift flitting meteor, a fast flying cloud, 
The flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, 
He passes from life to his rest in the grave. 

The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade, 
Be scattered around and together be laid; 
And the young and the old and the low and the high 
Shall molder to dust and together shall lie. 

The infant a mother attended and loved, 
The mother that infant's affection who proved, 
The husband that mother and infant who blest, 
Each, all are away to their dwellings of rest. 



40 

The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye, 
Shone beauty and pleasure, her triumphs are by; 
And the mem'ry of those who loved her and praised 
Are alike from the minds of the living erased. 

The hand of the king that the scepter hath borne, 
The brow of the priest that the miter hath worn, 
The eye of the sage and the heart of the brave 
Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave. 

The peasant whose lot was to sow and to reap, 
The herdsman who climbed with his goats up the steep, 
The beggar who wandered in search of his bread, 
Have faded away like the grass that we tread. 

The saint who enjoyed the communion of heaven, 
The sinner who dared to remain unforgiven, 
The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just, 
Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust. 

So the multitude goes like the flower or the weed 
That withers away to let others succeed, 
So the multitude comes, even those we behold, 
To repeat every tale that has often been told. 

For we are the same that our fathers have been; 
We see the same sights our fathers have seen; 
We drink the same streams, and view the same sun, 
And run the same course our fathers have run. 

The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think, 
From the death we are shrinking our fathers would shrink; 
To the life we are clinging they also would cling, 
But it speeds from us all like a bird on the wing. 



4* 

They loved, but the story we cannot unfold 
They scorned, but the heart of the haughty is cold; 
They grieved, but no wail from their slumber will come; 
They joyed, but the tongue of their gladness is dumb. 

They died, ay, they died. We things that are now, 
That walk on the turf that lies over their brow, 
And make in their dwellings a transient abode, 
Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage road. 

Yea, hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, 
Are mingled together in sunshine and rain; 
And the smile and the tear, the song and the dirge, 
Still follow each other like surge upon surge. 

'Tis the wink of an eye, 'tis the draught of a breath, 
From the blossom of health to the paleness of death, 
From the gilded salon to the bier and the shroud — 
Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud? 

— William Knox 

Poems on Lincoln 

"Ode for the Burial of Abraham Lincoln." — Bryant. 
"O Captain! My Captain!" — Walt Whitman. 

Lowell, in his Commemoration Ode has characterized 
Lincoln with lines which may well be said to "touch the 
high-water mark of American poetry": 

The kindly-earnest, brave, foreseeing man, 
Sagacious, patient, dreading praise, not blame. 
New birth of our new soil, the first American. 

Recantation made by the London Punch — a paper 
that had used Lincoln as a subject of caricature and ridicule : 



42 



Yes, he had lived to shame me from my sneer, 
To lame my pencil, and confute my pen — 

To make me own this hind — of princes peer, 
This railsplitter — a true-born king of men. 



Lincoln: A Retrospect 

Now that the winds of Peace have blown away 
The battle smoke which long obscured the day, 
Now that all wrath is as a tale of old 
And human flesh is minted into gold 
No longer, and the straggling thunders cease 
And all the land is wrapt in busy peace — 
There towers in our sight this man of worth 
Above the selfish kings that ruled the earth. 
He did not yearn for hopeless things, nor sigh 
For purple kingdoms verging on the sky, 
Nor long for irised landscapes shimmering fair 
In a blown bubble of inconstant air, 
But with great vision of the years to be 
He shaped a mighty nation's destiny 
And gave all man can give — his life he gave — 
To weld the broken state and free the slave. 

Gave resolution to the ruler's pen; 

The books he conned beside the open fire 

Made strong the brain which battles could not tire; 

The law courts with forensic shift and strife 

The ax the gaunt youth swung in dale and glen 

Prepared him for that tragedy, his life. 

He never held his ways from men apart, 

Yet kept a sanctuary in his heart 

Whence flowed a stream of love and hope, to bless, 



43 

Pure as a clear spring in a wilderness. 

He trusted God — bearing the weight of war — 

As olden captains trusted in a star. 

And yet he was not all the stolid oak: 

Full well could he the foeman's smile provoke 

With homely proverb or a timely joke. 

— Harry H. Kemp 

Calm and serene unto the end he past 
And bravely met his martyrdom at last . . . 
They crossed his thin, worn hands upon his breast. 
God gave the country peace and Lincoln rest! 

— The Independent, February 29, 1908. 



Lincoln 

Fate struck the hour! 

A crisis hour of time. 
The tocsin of a people clanging forth 
Thro' the wild South and thro' the startled North 
Called for a leader, master of his kind, 
Fearless and firm, and with clear foreseeing mind; 
Who should not flinch from calumny or scorn; 

Wielding a giant power 

Humbly, with faith sublime. 
God knew the man His sovereign grace had sealed; 
God touched the man and Lincoln stood revealed! 

— /. L. H. By permission of The Outlook. 



VI 
TRIBUTES TO LINCOLN BY OUR GREAT MEN 

5-8 Henry Ward Beecher's Eulogy 

Four years ago, O Illinois, we took from your midst 
an untried man from among the people. Behold! we 
return to you a mighty conquercr. Not ours any more, 
but the nation's. Not ours, but the world's. Give him 
place, O ye prairies. — Extract. 

5-8 Lincoln was the grandest figure of the fiercest Civil 

War. He is the gentlest memory of our world. 

— Robert G. Ingersoll. 

6-8 The Career and Character of Abraham Lincoln 

We cannot follow this contest. You know its gigantic 
proportions ; that it lasted four years instead of three months ; 
that in its progress instead of 75,000 men, more than 2,000,- 
000 were enrolled on the side of the Government alone; 
that the aggregate cost and loss to the nation approximated 
to $5,000,000,000, and that no less than 300,000 brave 
and precious lives were sacrificed on each side. History 
has recorded how Lincoln bore himself during those four 
frightful years; that he was the real President, the re- 



45 

sponsible and actual head of the Government through it 
all; that he listened to all advice, heard all parties, and 
then, realizing his responsibility to God and the Nation, 
decided every great executive question for himself. 

— Joseph H. Choate. ( Extract. ) 



6-8 Almost from the moment the bullet of the assassin 

pierced his brain, detraction ceased and appreciation be- 
gan. His fame has kept even pace with the fortunes of 
his united country. His great character is our noblest 
heritage. The more we study it the firmer must be our 
faith in the living power of human integrity. 

— Alfred Bayliss. 

7-8 Certain it is that we have never had a man in public 

life whose sense of duty was stronger, whose bearing toward 
those with whom he came in contact, whether his friends 
or political opponents, was characterized by a greater sense 
of fairness than Abraham Lincoln. We have never had a 
man in public life who took upon himself uncomplainingly 
the woes of the nation and suffered in soul from the weight 
of them as he did. We have never had a man in our history 
who had such a mixture of far-sightedness, of understand- 
ing of the people, of common sense, of high sense of duty, 
of power of inexorable logic and of confidence in the good- 
ness of God, in working out a righteous result as this great 
product of the soil of Kentucky and Illinois. 

— William Howard Tajt. 



4 6 

7-8 Washington and Lincoln 

Washington, though in some ways an even greater man 
than Lincoln, , did not have Lincoln's wonderful gift of 
expression — that gift which makes certain speeches of the 
rail-splitter from Illinois read like the inspired utterances 
of the great Hebrew seers and prophets. But he had all of 
Lincoln's sound common sense, far-sightedness, and de- 
votion to a lofty ideal. Like Lincoln he sought after the 
noblest objects, and like Lincoln he sought after them by 
thoroughly practical methods. These two greatest Ameri- 
cans can fairly be called the best among the great men of 
the world, and the greatest among the good men of the 
world. Each showed in actual practice his capacity to 
secure under our system, the priceless union of individual 
liberty with governmental strength. Each was free from 
the vices of the demagogue. 

— Theodore Roosevelt. 




A r t i i. i. l. k v Croup 



The Artillery group represents a piece of artillery in battle. The enemy 
has succeeded in' directing a shot so well as to dismount the gun. The officer 
in command mounts his disabled piece and with drawn saber fronts the enemy. 
The youthful soldier, with uplifted hands, is horrified at the havoc around 
him. ' The wounded and prostrate soldier wears a look of intense agony. 




C A V A L R Y G ROUP 



The Cavalry group, consisting of two human figures and a horse, repre- 
sents a battle scene. The horse, from whose back the rider has just been 
thrown, is frantically rearing. The wounded and dying trumpeter, supported 
by a comrade, is bravely facing death. 




I N F A N T R Y G R O D I' 

The Infantry gruup represents an officer, a private soldier, and a drummer. 
with arms and accoutrements, marching in expectation of battle. The 
officer in command raises the flag with one hand, and pointing to the enemv 
with the other, orders a charge. The private with the musket, as the repre- 
sentative of the whole line, is in the act of executing the charge. The drum- 
mer boy has become excited, lost his cap, thrown away his haversack and 
drawn a revolver to take part in the conflict. 




Nav a l Gro u p 

The Naval group represents a scene on the deck of a gunboat. The 
mortar is poised ready for action; the gunner has rolled up a shell ready for 
firing; the boy, or powder monkey, climbs to the highest point and is peering 
into the distance; the officer in command is about to examine the situation 
through the telescope. Each of these groups cost $13,700. 



VII 
Toast to the Flag 

Your Flag, and my Flag, 

And how it flies to-day 
In your land and my land 

And half a world away. 
Rose red and blood red 

Its stripes forever gleam, 
Soul white and snow white, 

The good forefather's dream. 
Sky blue and true blue, 

With stars to gleam aright, 
A gloried guidon in the day, 

A shelter through the night. 

Your Flag, and my Flag! 

And O, how much it holds — 
Your land and my land 

Secure within its folds; 
Your heart and my heart 

Beat quicker at the sight, 
Sun kissed and wind tossed, 

The red and blue and white. 
The one Flag, the great Flag, 

The Flag for me and you — 
Glorified all else beside, 

The Red and White and Blue. 

— W. B. Nesbit. 

47 



48 

Pledge Salute to the Flag 

Issued by the Grand Army of the Republic 

At a signal every person rises in his place. While the 
flag is being brought forward the salute is given as follows: 

"7 pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for 
which it stands: One Nation indivisible, with Liberty and 
Justice jor all." 

At the words "to my flag," extend the right hand, 
palm upward, toward the flag until the end of the pledge 
of affirmation. Then drop the hand to the side. 

To the younger children the following may be taught: 

"I give my head and my heart to God and my country. 
One country, one language, one flag." 



VIII 

SONGS 

Favorites of Lincoln — Campaign Songs — Popular 
National War Songs 

The song which Lincoln liked above all others was 
"Twenty Years Ago," beginning thus: 

"I've wandered to the village, Tom: I've sat beneath the tree 
Upon the schoolhouse playground, that sheltered you and me, 
But none were left to greet me, Tom, and few were left to know 
Who played with us upon the green, some twenty years ago." 

Other favorites were "Ben Bolt," "The Sword of 
Bunker Hill," and "The Lament of the Irish Emigrant." 

CAMPAIGN SONGS. 1858-1860 
A Lincoln Campaign Song, 1858 

We hear a cry increasing still, 
Like light it springs from hill to hill — 
From Pennsylvania's State it leaps, 
And o'er the Buckeye valley sweeps. 

Get out of the way, Stephen Douglas! 
Get out of the way, Stephen Dougas! 
Get out of the way, Stephen Douglas! 
Lincoln is the man we want to serve us! 

49 



5° 



The Hoosier State first caught the cry, 
The Hawkeye State then raised it high, 
The Sucker State now waits the day, 
When Lincoln leads to victory! 

Get out of the way, etc. 

Cheer up, for victory's on its way, 
No power its onward march can stay, 
As well to stop the thunder's roar 
As hope for Douglas to serve us more. 

Get out of the way, etc. 

Then, Freemen, rally, one and all, 
Respond to our brave leader's call; 
Free Speech, Free Press, Free Soil, want we, 
And Lincoln to lead for liberty! 

Get out of the way, etc. 

— Illinois State Journal, October 27, 1858. 



3-8 Douglas' Complaint 

He punished me — in fight you see, 

And said I had the wrong of it; 
For I am small and he is tall 

And that's the short and long of it. 

He split a rail, through my coat tail 
He quickly thrust the prong of it; 
I'm five feet one, that lofty son 
Is six feet four and strong of it. 
— From the Wide-awake Vocalist, a Republican campaign song book 
0} i860. 



5 1 

"Wide- Awake Club" Song 

Tune — "A Wet and a Flowing Sea." 

Oh, hear you not the wild huzzas 
That come from every State? 

For honest Uncle Abraham, 
The people's candidate? 

He is our choice, our nominee 

A self-made man and true; 
We'll show the Democrats this fall 

What honest Abe can do. 

Then give us Abe, and Hamlin, too, 

To guide our gallant ship, 
With Seward, Sumner, Chase, and Clay, 

And then a merry trip. 

I hear that Doug is half inclined 

To give us all leg-bail, 
Preferring exercise on foot 

To riding on a rail. 

For Abe has one already mauled 
Upon the White House plan; 

If once Doug gets astride of that, 
He is a used up man. 

Then give us Abe, and Hamlin, too, 

To guide our gallant ship, 
With Seward, Sumner, Chase, and Clay, 

And then a merry trip. 



5 2 

POPULAR NATIONAL WAR SONGS 

When General Grant asked for 300,000 soldiers in 1864, 
Lincoln, in spite of many protests, called for 500,000, hence 
this loyal response: 

We are Coming, Father Abraham 

We are coming, Father Abraham, six hundred thousand more, 

From Mississippi's winding stream and from New England's shore; 

We leave our plows and workshops, our wives and children dear, 

With hearts too full for utterance, with but a silent tear; 

O we dare not look behind us, but steadfastly before — 

We are coming, Father Abr'am, with six hundred thousand more! 

We are coming, we are coming, Our Union to restore; 

We are coming, Father Abr'am, with six hundred thousand more. 

If you look acoss the hill-tops that meet the Northern sky, 

Long moving lines of rising dust your vision may descry; 

And now the wind an instant tears the cloudy veil aside, 

And floats aloft our spangled flag in glory and in pride; 

And bayonets in the sunlight gleam and bands brave music play — 

We are coming, Father Abr'am, with six hundred thousand more. 

We are coming, we are coming, etc. 

— A Volunteer. 

5-8 The Vacant Chair 

Thanksgiving, 1861 

We shall meet but we shall miss him; 

There will be one vacant chair; 
We shall linger to caress him, 

While we breathe our evening prayer. 



53 

When, a year ago, we gathered, 
Joy was in his mild blue eye; 

But a golden cord is severed, 
And our hopes in ruins lie. 

At our fireside, sad and lonely, 

Often will the bosom swell 
At remembrance of the story, 

How our noble Willie fell; 
How he strove to bear our banner 

Through the thickest of the fight, 
And upheld our country's honor 

In the strength of manhood's might. 



Foes and Friends 

Two soldiers, lying as they fell, upon the reddened clay, 

In daytime foes, at night in peace, breath'd there their lives away; 

Brave hearts had stirr'd each manly breast, fate, only, made them 

foes; 
And lying, dying, side by side, a softened feeling rose. 

Chorus 
They'll go no more to the lov'd homes here, but together both will wait 
For the sunny-hair'd and bright-eyed ones, beyond the golden gate. 

"Among New Hampshire's snowy hills, there pray for me to-night 
A woman and a little girl, with hair like golden light"; 
And at the thought, broke forth at last the cry of anguish wild, 
That would not longer be repressed, "O God, my wife, my child!" 

Then spoke the other dying man: "Across the Georgia plain, 
There watch and wait for me loved ones I'll never see again! 
A little girl, with dark bright eyes, each day is at the door, 
The father's step, the father's kiss will never greet her more." 



54 

The dying lips the pardon breathe, the dying hands entwine; 
The last ray dies, and over all the stars of heaven shine, 
And now, the girl with golden hair, and she with dark eyes bright, 
On Hampshire's hills and Georgia's plain, were fatherless that night. 



Wake Nicodemus 

Nicodemus, the slave, was of African birth, 

And was bought for a bagful of gold; 
He was reckon'd as part of the salt of the earth, 

But he died years ago, very old. 
'Twas his last sad request, so we laid him away 

In the trunk of an old hollow tree, 
"Wake me up! " was his charge, at the first break of day, 

Wake me up for the great Jubilee!" 

Chorus 
The "Good time coming" is almost here! 

It was long, long, long on the way! 
Now run and tell Elijah to hurry up Pomp, 
And meet us at the gumtree down in the swamp, 

To wake Nicodemus to-dav. 



When Johnny Comes Marching Home 

When Johnny comes marching home again, 

Hurrah! Hurrah! 
We'll give him a hearty welcome then, 

Hurrah! Hurrah! 
The men will cheer, the boys will shout, 
The ladies, they will all turn out, 
The old church bell will peal with joy, 

Hurrah! Hurrah! 



55 

To welcome home our darling boy 

Hurrah! Hurrah! 
The village lads and lassies say 
With roses they will strew the way. 

Refrain 

And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home. 

(The words of the foregoing songs are used by permission of the S. Brainard's 
Sons Company, of Chicago, publishers of the words and music.) 



IX 

PROGRAMS 

SUGGESTED PROGRAMS FROM MATERIAL 
IN THE FOREGOING PAGES 

These programs are merely suggestive. They may be modified 
and adjusted to suit conditions. 

Country School Programs 

Country school programs may easily be made from these by select- 
ing portions from each appropriate to the children of any school. 

Grades I and II 

Time — About Fijty Minutes 

Song — "America." (First stanza.) 

Talk by the Teacher — Lincoln's Life. (About five minutes.)* 
Song — "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground." 

Stories (to be memorized in advance and told by individual children) — 
i A "Copy" Writtea by Lincoln. 

2 Recollections of the Kentucky Farm. 

3 "Abe's Log" at Sangamon Town. 

4 Lincoln Saves a Man from Freezing. 

*See " Boy's Life of Lincoln," by Helen Nicolay. Found also in St. Nicholas, 
Vol. 33. Supplement the talk, by blackboard drawings or pictures of Lincoln, 
the log cabin in which he was born, his home at Springfield, the National Lin- 
coln Monument, and the Capitol at Washington. 
56 



57 

5 Lincoln and the Young Birds. 

6 Rescue of a Pig. 

7 Lincoln's Habit of Carrying Letters in His Hat. (May be 

dramatized.) 

8 How Lincoln Kept His Post-office Collections. 
Poem — From Lincoln's Paper Scrap Book. 

March — Flag Drill. 

Song — "Salute to the Flag." (By Jessie L. Gaynor.) 

Stories (to be told by the children) — 

9 Lincoln Carries a Little Girl's Trunk to the Station. 

io Lincoln, His Two Boys, and Three Walnuts. (May be 

dramatized.) 
ii How Tad Interrupted a Game of Chess. 
12 A Little Girl Induces Lincoln to Wear a Beard. 
Sayings (write on the blackboard. To be read by the teacher or 
recited by children) — ■ 

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." 
"Broken eggs cannot be mended." 
"A live dog is better than a dead lion." 
Song — "Dixie Land." 
Salute to the Flag. (To be memorized.) 



Grades III and IV 

Time — About One Hour 

Song — "The Star Spangled Banner." 

Talk by Teacher — Early Life of Lincoln. (Five minutes.)* 

Charades — Based on Lincoln's Boyhood. (To be acted by boys 

in turn.) 

i Carrying water. 

2 Picking berries. 

* See " Boy's Life of Lincoln," by Helen Nicolay. Found also in St. Nicholas, 
Vol. 33. Supplement the talk by blackboard drawings or pictures. 



5« 

3 Splitting rails. 

4 Poling a flat-boat. 

5 Dropping pumpkin seeds in the cornfield — every ether hill 

in every other row. 

6 Writing on a shovel with a charred stick. 

7 Copying, from borrowed books, with his turkey-buzzard pen 

and brier-root ink. 
Talk by Teacher — Lincoln's Later Life. (Five minutes.) 
Poem — "Douglas' Complaint" — Campaign Song of i860. (Class 

memorize and recite.) 
Song — "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." 
Stories (to be told by the children) — 

1 How Lincoln Paid for Weems' Life of Washington. 

2 Lincoln's First Dollar. 

3 How Lincoln Saved a Flat-boat. 

Sayings and Maxims (written on blackboard. Read by teacher 
or children) — 
"It is better only sometimes to be right than at all times to be 

wrong." 
"When I am dead I wish my friends to remember that I always 
plucked a thistle and planted a rose when in my power." 
Song — "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!" 

March (leader to beat time on drum. Fife also, if possible.) 
Toast to the Flag (By W. B. Nesbit.) 
Stories (to be told by the children) — 

4 Wrestling Match with Armstrong. 

5 Irish Bull about the New Boots. 

6 How Tad was Named. 

7 Some Little Girls at the White House. 

8 How Tad Signalled to His Father. 
Song — "Battle Hymn of the Republic." 
Salute to the Flag. 

Song — "America." (First and last stanzas.) 



59 
Grades V and VI 

Time — About an Hour and Fifteen Minutes 

Song — "We are Coming, Father Abraham." 

Reading by the Teacher — Lincoln's Own Sketch of His Life, as 

found in "Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln," by Nicolay 

and Hay. 
Poem — Verses Lincoln Wrote on His Return to Indiana. 
Song — "Just Before the Battle, Mother." 
Stories (to be memorized and told by individual children) — 

i Lincoln Saves Three Men in a Sangamon River Tree. 

2 How Lincoln Saved a Flat-boat. 

3 The Great Wrestling Match. 

4 Captain Lincoln Forgets Proper Word of Command. 
Poem — "A Man's a Man for a' That." 

Song — "The Girl I Left Behind Me." 
Stories (to be told by individual children, — 

5 Lincoln Refuses to Defend a Guilty Client. 

6 Lincoln Discourages Sharp Practices. 

7 Latitude and Longitude of Lincoln's Socks. 

8 Douglas Holds Lincoln's Hat. 
Poems Suitable for Readings — 

"A Lincoln Campaign Song." 

"Wide- Awake Club" Song. 
Song — "The Vacant Chair." 

Talk by the Teacher — Lincoln as President. (About five minutes.) 
Stories — 

9 Betsy Ann, the Washerwoman, 
io Lincoln on His Ancestry. 

n The Steamer with Six-inch Boiler and Nine-Inch Whistle. 

12 /Esop's Fable about "Four White Men Scrubbing a Negro." 
Reading by Pupil — The Presidential Oath. 
Sayings — 

i "I have not suffered by the South," etc. 



6o 

2 "Those who deny Freedom to others," etc. 

3 "Let us have faith that right makes might," etc. 
Poem — "O Captain, My Captain." (Walt Whitman.) 
Recitation by Three Students — "Tributes to Lincoln," by Bayliss, 

Taft, and Roosevelt. 
Pledge Salute to Flag. 
Song — "America." 

Grades VII and VIII 

Time — About One Hour and a Half 

Song — "Song of a Thousand Years." 

Talk by Principal or Grade Teacher — How Lincoln Became 

President. (Five minutes.) 
Poem — "Oh! Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be Proud?" 
Song — "Nelly Gray." 
Stories — About Lincoln (to be memorized and told by pupils) — 

i Lincoln's Honesty in Regard to Fees. 

2 Lincoln's Suit Against the Illinois Central Railroad. 

3 Homes of Lincoln and Louis the Fourteenth. 

4 How Oglesby, John Hanks, and Two Fence Rails Killed 

Seward's Boom. 

5 A Pass to Richmond. 

6 Lincoln and the Russian Ambassador. 

Reading — Lincoln's Interpretation of "All Men are Created Equal." 

Reading — Lincoln's Letter to Mrs. Bixby. 

Maxim — "He who does something at the head of one regiment, will 

eclipse him who docs nothing at the head of a hundred." 
Talk by Principal or Grade Teacher — What made Lincoln Great. 
Reading — Lincoln's Letter to General Hooker. 
Song — "Wake Nicodemus." 

Reading — With Explanatory Remarks. The Gettysburg Address. 
Stories — By. Lincoln (to be memorized and told by the pupils) — 

7 Purpose of Lincoln's Stories. 



6i 

8 The Rat Story. 

9 The Boast of the Irish Soldier. 

10 The Irish Bull about the New Boots. 

n How Some People Succeed in Corking Up Others. 

12 Blondin Crossing Niagara River. 

13 Attending to the Details of the Army. 

14 The Coon Story, or What Lincoln Would' Like to do with 

Jeff Davis. 
Reading — Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. 
Song — "Foes and Friends." 
Tributes to Lincoln — By Alfred Bayliss, William Howard Taft, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
Poem — "A Retrospect." (Harry H. Kemp.) 
Talk — Description of the National Lincoln Monument. 
Talk — What Shall the Centennial Lincoln Memorial be? (Review 0} 

Reviews, September, 1908.) 
Poem — "Lincoln." (J. L. H.) If possible, at close of poem, unveil 

a new bust or picture of Lincoln. 
Pledge Salute to the Flag. 
Song — "America." 



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